Supply Chain Management Gets “Real” in China

The moment Quinnipiac MBA student Jing Liang, who is from Tianjin City, got the news that he’d be interning at Kerry EAS Logistics, he thought his tasks would be both simple and boring. What’s easier than watching packages and cartons going in and going out? When he got there he knew he was mistaken. In the short period of internship at Kerry EAS Logistics, Jing realized supply chain is real and the relative management theories taught in the classroom are extremely helpful.

From basic stock classification to receiving and picking up cartons for SAP system operation, Jing enjoyed all of the internship time spent at Kerry EAS Logistics. According to Jing, “The first few days were frustrating.” He stated, “I’d have to pick accessories for Nokia handsets, type label information, print them out and put them on the carton.” He didn’t complain, but instead tried to observe how the front-end staff worked and how their behaviors and attitudes influenced all of the chain operations. After the initial adaptation, Jing’s role was to receive the distribution manager’s e-mail, and he was responsible for sending out the correct boxes to Lumia. One box contained $30,000 worth of mobile phones and he would overseer them until they were delivered onsite. Said Jing, “I realized why third party logistics lowers risk and accelerates business running. And I understood why around Kerry warehouse, there are a lot of e-Commerce companies– Alibaba, Watsons, Vancl, etc. They are the leading companies in doing B2B [business to business] and B2C [business to consumer].” One important take away that Jing had from the experience is the importance of organziation and leadership within a corporate environment and the important role every person brings to an effectual result.

Jing feels lucky to have enrolled in MBA 689 Internship Experience, with Dr. Richard McCarthy, Professor of Computer Information Systems, and had the opportunity at Kerry. Jing says, “I know it’s time to get out of [the] Ivory tower and initiate my career. I appreciate that Kerry EAS gave me this platform to make it real.”